Development bulletin: Eastern African sub regional cooperation and integration, Issue no.1

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EASTERN AFRICA SUBREGIONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTRE(EASRDC)

TOWARDS SUBREGIONAL COOPERATION AND INFORMATION: BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER

issue nQ 1

June 1997 United Nations Economic Commission for Africa:

TOWARDS AFRICAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITY EASTERN AFRICA SUBREGIONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTRE (EA - SRDC)

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■provided and continues to remain an ideal framework for thinking out and analyzing development policies and instruments as well as working out and negotiating African common positions. These advocacy and technical assis tance activities have, to date, been carried out through publication of seminal docu ments, the provision of advi sory services and the organi zation of policy meetings or thematic conferences.

In its quest for excellence in the service of Africa, ECA has embarked on a renewal process some of whose components are greater decentralization of activities

to the subregions, the expan sion of its partnership net work, the refocusing of substantive programmes and wider use of modern commu nication tools. The transfor mation of what used to be known as Multinational Programming and Operational Centres (MULPOCs) into Subregional Development Centres (SRDCs), along with the strengthening of human resources, should be seen in this perspective. The SRDCs will become the fora and serve as the instruments for pursu ing this strategy within the subregions. In addition to their role of back-stopping the economic integration and country assistance processes, they will promote a subre gional framework for the multimedia sharing of ideas, data, experiences and informa tion with new partners outside the traditional circle of ECA interaction with policy mak ers, national experts and IGO secretariats.

This bulletin will be one such instrument for sharing information among all devel opment players in the East African subregion. It is designed both for wider dissemination of the studies

and substantive work carried out by ECA or by other United Nations agencies and to focus the debate on devel opment issues beyond the traditional framework of subregional meetings and conferences. Obviously, its success will depend on the relevance of the issues consid ered and the quality of articles published. It will also, and more especially, depend on the full participation of all the subregional development actors: member States, their IGOs, United Nations special ized agencies, non-govern mental organizations (NGOs), business transactors, chambers of commerce, professional associations and research institutes. Such participation may take the form of reading and analysis, proposal of themes, drafting of articles, the exercise of the right of reply and many other forms.

The East African SRDC will, through this platform, endeavour to strength its regional cooperation network, promote a debate on strategic development issues and the wider dissemination of infor mation and economic data with a view to serving Africa better. ■

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II. "Not Gone, Just Forgotten Refugees in Eastern Africa

Peter Kessler Regional Public Information Officer, UNHCR, Nairobi Think ofone African

news item that has consistently made it

into your local newspaper in the last nine months and you cannot but think of the plight of Rwanda's refugees.

Escaping their homeland

amidst a genocide, sweeping across borders and succumbing

to cholera—the Rwandese exodus and their dramatic return in late 1996 eclipsed

almost every other humanitar

ian story on the continent except the civil war that en gulfed their camps.

Across Africa, UNHCR has seen some massive success

stories in the last years. Repa

triation operations have helped to bring the total number of Africans under UNHCR's care from 9.1 million in 1996 to 6

million today, ofwhom 3.9

million are refugees, 400,000

are internally displaced persons

and some 1.7 million are recent

returnees benefiting from quick

impact projects and repatriation

packages.

But in the Horn's wind swept Somali refugee camps along Ethiopia's Ogaden,

developments have been slower. Refugees don't need to nominate spokesmen to speak

to visitors as was the case around Goma. Since the

media's initial rush to document

their arrival in exile in 1988,

almost no one has been back to

Burundi/Rwandese refugees/Mugano camp, Muyinga ProWArrival. Newanivais from Cibitoke transit centre receive tokens which will allow them to be registered the next day.

the desolate region.

Mariam Juma, age 30, lives

130 kilometers from her native Hargeisa in Hartisheik refugee

camp. As she waits in hope of getting a small grant to start a

business, she can only think of how empty her last ten years of

exile have been.

"This is not a life," she

said. "I feel like a neglected

person. Most of the time, no one comes to see our prob lems"

Among Africa's refugees,

humanitarian crises and the subsequent emergency response

create the haves, in the process

making last year's aid recipient a have not. For Mariam Juma

and the other 450,000 refugees

from Somalia spread across the

Horn, the world's patience has just about rurt out.

While for two years more than 1.1 million Rwandese refugees in the then eastern

Zaire could depend upon relief

agencies supplying almost all their needs, the tukuls at Mariam Juma's Hartisheik camp are covered with rotten canvas and shards ofplastic.

When the dry season drives fissures into the earth and livestock swarm the remaining water holes, she can only queue at the wheezing taps to get a few liters of water before supplies run out.

Though one difference between the trials facing the

Horn's refugees and those of the Great Lakes is a fault of

geography, another reason is

simply that Mariam Juma's

needs and the reasons she is in exile have just about been forgotten.

Refugees across the

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continent face the same prob lem. Although all ofthem require the basic necessities to make their exile bearable, relief agencies must compete for scarce funds to keep them alive while waiting for a solution so the refugees might one day go home.

Emmanuel Bentil-Owusu, UNHCR's representative in Khartoum, is hopeful that solutions can be found for refugee problems in eastern Africa. But like everywhere, he notes that UNHCR needs repatriation movements to get underway to convince donors to give. But in a cruel twist, in order to convince refugees to go home they not only need peace but also aid and rehabili tation projects so that their return won't overwhelm still fragile communities.

Some ofeastern Africa's refugee problems have been solved in recent years. From more than 420,000 refugees in

1992, Kenya's refugee popula tion has receded to 170,000 today thanks to large-scale returns to Ethiopia and Soma lia,

While life is still difficult for the 400,000 Sudanese who have fled their country's 15 year-old civil war for camps in Uganda, Ethiopia, Kenya and the Central African Republic, the Ugandan government has granted land so that some of its

180,000 Sudanese can become self-sufficient.

Also happily, most of Eritrea's one million refugees have found their way home since their people gained independence in 1993. UNHCR

Ethiopia/Returnees/School in Adabai Returnee Resettlement Village/near Humera

Photo: UNHCR/M.EIkhoury/01.1996 ___

assisted some 25,000 Eritreans home from camps in Sudan between November 1994 and May 1995, but the operation to return the remaining 130,000 has been on hold ever since.

Solutions for most of the Rwandese refugees in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and Burundi have come more quickly. In the space ofjust over a week last November, some 600,000 refugees returned from the Goma region.

The civil war that erupted in Zaire last year caught up over 200.000 Rwandese and Burundian refugees who still haven't been accounted for. As the fighting shifted further west, so did the refugees, many frightened, others forced to act as porters. Countless tens of thousands died of hunger, illness and injuries along a trek that has taken some as far west as the Atlantic Ocean port at Pointe Noire.

For those refugees who resurfaced, the media attention

their plight received spurred donors to fund an airlift. More than 58.000 refugees have been rescued from the Congo's jungle and flown home, many

of them with horrific wounds and frightening stories of their flight.

The fact that the Rwandese crisis unraveled before the international press, unlike the slow desperation that has confronted Mariam Juma at Hartisheik since the heady days of 1988 when journalists flocked to the camp, went a long way towards helping agencies fund operations to locate and rescue the Rwandese.

"When you have the limelight, you get material support, funds and quicker solutions," said UNHCR's Filippo Grandi, the agency's field coordinator in charge of finding and repatriating those Rwandese who fled their camps in the Kivu region. '"Without material resources and political support, lives can be lost."

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Ethiopia/Somali refugees/Jijiga area Photo: UNHCR/W. Van Bemmel/08.1995

Grandi, who previously

worked trying to raise funds to maintain the massive

Rwandese camps, recalled

that in the absence of a repa triation, generating aid to keep even modest relief

programs going can be diffi cult.

"The real problem is

getting money for post- emergency operations that

drag on without a solution,"

he said. "In 1994, there was a flood of support for the Great Lakes. When it appeared intractable, the crisis went through long periods of

underfunding."

It is this lack of attention

and underfunding that affects

so many other refugees in the greater eastern Africa region.

Almost 350,000 Burundian refugees remain in camps

outside their homeland, including almost 100,000 who have been in refuge since

1993, together with over

200,000 who escaped to Tanzania since last October in what aid workers call a silent

emergency due to the absence

of popular attention.

Equally forgotten are some 94,000 Congolese currently in Tanzania wait

ing to return to their homes near

Uvira. Their repatriation is delayed while

they await a firm

announcement

from Kinshasa that they may

return in safety.

Grandi fears for those Burundians in the DRC who cannot yet repatriate, and for

the small number of innocent

Rwandese who still fear going

home. For these refugees,

permanent solutions are still

distant, but their security

needs are great.

UNHCR's David Lambo,

the organization's regional liaison representative in Addis Ababa, also worries for the fate of those refugees far from the media's limelight.

"The crisis in the Great Lakes has been of epic pro

portions and has seen trag

edies, but where is Somalia or

Sudan or Sierra Leone? In the

Horn of Africa, there is indeed

unfinished business," he said.

Solutions for hundreds of thousands ofthe Horn's

refugees are now on the

horizon. Despite the political differences that have some times separated countries in the region, UNHCR repatriation

operations haves for example,

given Ethiopian refugees a

chance to return home.

Beginning last May,

UNHCR repatriated some 6,900 Ethiopian refugees before the rains arrived. Once

roads dry in October, the agency expects to return another 15,000 Ethiopians

which should bring to a close

one group's long exile.

Mariam Juma's repatriation is in sight as well. Between February and July 1997, more than 10,000 Somalis left

eastern Ethiopia for northwest Somalia as part of a pilot repatriation operation. If

funding permits, UNHCR hopes to repatriate another 30,000 by the end of 1997, with 60,000 refugees to return

over 1998, drawing down

Ethiopia's population of some 290,000 Somali refugees

considerably.

The operation has been

boosted thanks to a peace

agreement brokered earlier this

year between the president of the self-proclaimed Republic of Somaliland Mohammed Egal

and rival clan leaders. But UNHCR's Lambo fears that without a higher profile and donor aid, the peace process could falter, and with it hopes

that Somali's refugees can

return.

"Where there is a peaceful

situation, such as northern

Somalia, the international

community should reward

that," he said. "Social stability

must be maintained to help returnees." ■

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III. Small Scale Food Processing

Technologies and their use in the Rural Areas of the Eastern

African Subregion:

PekiKanaKwala, Director, EASRDC

The case of vegetable oils and fish products

Food processing consti tutes one of the major economic sectors in Eastern African Subregion for the following reasons: food processing allows the con sumption of seasonal agricul tural products over the whole year and therefore minimizes the important price fluctua tions resulting from the

periodic gluts and shortages of the fresh products; food processing generates substan tial foreign exchange in the Eastern African countries like Kenya which produce a large surplus of agricultural prod ucts. The choice of inappro priate food processing tech nologies results sometimes in subsidizing large scale food processing plants or in giving them priority in the supply needed raw materials to the detriment ofthe existing small processing units. A large number of the small process ing units have not been able to maintain adequate balance between small-scale food processing units using labour intensive or intermediate techniques and large scale units using imported, capital intensive technologies. Be cause of the lack of technical and economic information on alternative food processing technologies, small scale food processing units are being

increasingly replaced by imported large scale products.

In this connection, efforts have been made by the gov ernments of the Eastern African countries to introduce in their development plans or programmes, agricultural technology policy, accompa nied by market-based input- output pricing system, in order to ensure the develop ment of the small-scale food processing technologies and self-sufficiency in food pro duction in Eastern African countries.

In fact, the preservation of legumes, fruits, grains and other produce is difficult owing to the fact that the harvested products are often attacked by insects or simply rot. In the absence of storage, processing and packaging system, the entire harvest runs the risk of perishing. Increas ing efforts are being made to utilize processing technologies for the production or in creased production of what ever commodity that might help the population of Eastern African Subregion substitute their usual eating habits with lighter, healthy and balanced diet based on various types of locally produced edible oils,

fish, bread and honey.

As far as the oils are concerned, they play an essential role in the provision of food and nutrition for the vast majority ofthe population of the Eastern African coun tries. Among these plants or legumes whose seeds and fruits yield protein-rich edible oils are groundnuts and palm oil. As the majority of the population in the countries of the Eastern African subregion reside in rural and small urban areas, the techniques they may use for oil extraction should not require sophisticated technology.

Ground nuts and Palm oil

A number of factors which led to the choice of the extraction of groundnut oil from groundnut kernels and palm oil from the palm nuts, include the following: (a) a significant indigenous con sumption of groundnut and palm oil in the countries of Eastern African Subregion; (b) a substantial demand for unrefined oil in these coun tries; (c) and the relatively high oil content of groundnuts and palm nuts. Because of the lack ofimproved technology,

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the population of the rural areas use tr ) following equip ment for the traditional pro duction of groundnuts oil:

pestle and motor, board or grinding stone and bottle or cylindrical stone. By using this equipment, the following product and by-products are obtained: oil, groundnuts flour, groundnuts paste and ground nuts milk.

The improved technologi cal process for the production of groundnuts oil follows various stages: (a) washing to ensure that the nutshells containing the nuts are clean;

(b) the clean nuts are shelled to separate the grain from the shells; (c) after removing the skin from the nuts, they are ground, the paste is heated and moistened; (d) the oil is ex tracted using the hot pressure continuous or discontinuous system. These stages are described for the following six types of plants: macro-plant, power mill, small expeller mill, small package expeller mill, medium and large expeller miss, solvent extraction plant and west-processing. There is also the process of using hot direct pressure, which has the advantage of not being very costly and not requiring very skilled labour.

Regarding the palm oil, the following traditional techno logical production process is used in processing ofpalm nuts

into palm oil: (a) small-scale

mixing, the materials used in this kind ofmixing include a half-barrel and a wooden rod with transverse sticks that

facilitate the dislodgement of

the pulp from the husk; (b) Raphia cloth press, this press is used to separate the fibre from the oil. The oil that flows out is collected in a receptacle.

There are several modern methods for the extraction of

palm oil, but they are all based

on the same procedure whose main stages are as follows:

sterilization, stalking, extrac tion ofoil, clarification, drying and storage of crude oil.

The only major difference between all these systems concerns the process for the extraction of oil which can be done by pressing, centrifuga- tion or washing. Fittings that comprise the apparatus are of differing shapes and layouts depending on their manufac turer.

As for the small-scale traditional technological production process of palm kernel oil, two small scale technological processes are used as follows: (a) palm kernels are soaked in water for 48 hours. They are then pounded in a mortar until they produce a milky paste. This paste in placed in a receptacle containing water and stirred until it froths. The froth is removed and heated until it boils. A clear and high quality oil is thus obtained; (b) the

kernels are cleaned and roasted

in a pan until they start releas ing oil. They are then placed in a pot to be heated to boiling

point. Oil floats above the

water and is removed. This process yields a dark oil; 10 Kg of kernels produce approxi mately 0.71 Kg. palm kernel oil.

The production using modern technological process ofpalm kernel oil are generally processed in oil mills in import ing countries, depending on the market for expellers.

The palm kernel oil, like coconut oil has a particularly high content of lauric acid. Its major uses after refinery are in food preparation and soap making because it facilitates lathering.

The following methodol ogy is of a general nature and may be used to estimate production costs of groundnut;

(a) cost of raw materials required to determine the daily and yearly quantities of raw materials to be processed, the number of shifts worked per day and the number of days worked per year and to calcu late the output, using the extraction rates associated with the adopted process and the input of raw materials; (b) fixed investment cost by determining the cost of the following items: costs of land, buildings, equipment and cost of initial spare parts. There fore, Fixed Investment Cost represent the total sum of these items; (c) working capital and total investment cost.

Fish processing technologies

Fish processing is a fairly wide field, covering a large number of processing tech niques, fish species and fish product. The following are the fish processing technolo-

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gies suited for small scale producers: fish salting, drying and fermenting and fish smoking and boiling.

But since spoilage offish may take place before, during or after processing, it is important to reduce wastage and losses to the lowest possible level. In fact, fish get spoiled very quickly and small-scale fish processing enterprises can easily lose profits through wastage. In general, it has been estimated that approximately 25% of a catch offish may be lost through one cause or another before consumption. Mea sures have to be taken to prevent or minimize the spoilage offish before, during and after processing. In the rural areas when the large catches offish are taken, the lack ofhandling facilities and the distribution causes the spoilage offish. To avoid such spoilage offish, it is recommended to introduce the cold storage facilities in proximity to the catch areas or adequate transport facilities.

Such transport facilities should be equipped with a refrigeration system. It is advised that processing plants such as salting, drying and fermenting and fish smoking and boiling, should be located near the catch areas in order to avoid the need for exten sive transport facilities. Dur ing processing, all tools, fish boxes, boat holds, cutting tables etc.... should be cleaned by washing with clean water.

The working area should be cleaned regularly, at least once a day by removing all offal

and dirt which might contain bacteria or attract insects/

pests such as flies. Work, such as cutting fish prior to salting or drying, must be carried out on tables not on the ground where the fish will become dirty and pick up bacteria. The storage life of cured fish will depend on the adopted curing methods and packaging. Cooked fish, such as boiled or hot smoked products, must be salted and/

or dried if a storage life of more than two days at tropical temperatures is required.

Salting can be done by a number of methods. The resultants are influenced by such factors as climate, salt quality, type and quality ofthe fish used, the type of product desired by consumers and cost. The juices extracted from the fish during dry salting can be allowed to drain away or they can be contained in order to keep the fish covered by a salty liquid.

There are three main salting methods: kench salting, pickle curing and bringing.

Natural or air drying uses the combined action of the sun and wind without the help of equipment. It is important to dry the fish quickly before they get spoiled, and that all surfaces of the fish be opened to the drying action of the wind. Artificial drying offers better control than natural drying, resulting in greater product uniformity and qual ity.

The initial investment on equipment and expenditure on

energy inputs are however, high and may not always be justified. In general, artificial drying is advantageous than drying by conventional meth ods.

The use of solar dryers has been investigated as an alternative to traditional sun drying. Solar drying reduces the effect of insect infestation offish. In addition to causing losses in quality and quantity, insects/pests are potential carriers of pathogenic bacteria and thus represent a serious health hazard. The tempera tures found in solar dryers can kill any insects or larvae present on the fish, thereby presenting a means of disin fection.

Constraints and require ments for a development of the small scale food process ing activities

Any assistance in favour of the small-scale food pro cessing activities in the rural areas should take into consid eration the socio-economic framework of each activity.

This framework may include the following social groups: crop harvesting farmers, fishermen, the small- scale food producers in the rural areas (e.g. Harvesting staff and their family), crop and fish traders, the suppliers ofvarious materials inputs and equipment and local consum ers. Any assistance provided to the small-scale food pro cessing units in the rural areas should be carefully analyzed in terms of its acceptance by

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the above groups, us impact on productivity and incomes,

and its effectiveness in

bringing about the desired

changes.

In many rural areas of

the countries of the Eastern African subregion, small- scale food producers lack the infrastructures such as stor

age, transport, marketing

services, trading coopera tives, etc... The lack of

energy or fuel for operating

the small-scale food process ing technology constitute additional constraints to the development of these activi ties in the rural areas of the Eastern African subregion.

In the agriculture sector and specially in the case of

groundnut and palm oils, sufficiently large storage capacities are required from the pretreatment to the post

treatment stages. The invest

ments which are specific to the small-scale food process ing units in the rural areas

are mostly needed for the appropriate food processing technologies, raw materials and oil storage (finished

goods) infrastructures. The

acquisition of appropriate

food processing equipment and technologies as well as the establishment of adequate infrastructures, require

financial assistance which are

not generally available. The same constraints apply to the

fishing communities in the rural areas which lack the infrastructure necessary for chilling or freezing the fish, such as cold storage, ice making plants and for mar

keting fresh and cured fish at

some distance from the fishing areas of the rural

areas.

The assistance to the small-scale food processing units in the rural areas should be determined on the basis of a national food processing policy. Such a policy should include the following: (a) the

extent to which food pro

cessing activities should be shared between small-scale and large scale food process ing units; (b) the small-scale food processing technologies which should be promoted in the rural areas, taking into consideration the demand and needs of consumers, the infrastructures such as stor

age, transport, marketing, etc....

The institutional Frame work and the training needs Cooperatives play an impor tant role in the multiple

stages of the agricultural

business, system, from

production to terminal

market points. As a strategi

cal structure, cooperatives should be placed at rural

locations, thus emphasizing their eligibility to be devel oped as focal organizations for rural development.

In the small-scale food

processing subsector, edible

oil and fish cooperatives should be established in order to share in their respective markets. The traditional small-scale oil processing activities are popular in the rural areas of the Eastern African subregion. About

80% of edible oil produced traditionally are consumed for cooking. It is recom

mended to establish the

following cooperative struc tures in the rural areas of the Eastern African subregion:

(a) Cooperative storage and marketing structure;and (b) Consumer and training

cooperative structure.

The availability of skilled labour often constitutes a constraint to the establish ment of small-scale modern food processing units in the rural areas of the countries of the Eastern African subre

gion. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to provide and extend the

training facilities that would enable the small-scale food producers to keep up and develop their production efficiencies as well as their productivities in the rural

areas.

The provision of training to small-scale food produc

ers, storage personnel, traders, etc., will generally

be needed in order to expand

the supply of food products and to increase productivity

and incomes in the rural areas. The training

programme should preferaoly

be under the responsibility of

the Ministry of Agriculture,

Department of Food Process

ing if any. But the training

itself should be organised

through the consumer and

training cooperative structure

in the rural areas. ■

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IV, African Information Society

Initiative: Fostering Subregional and Regional Cooperation and Integration Through Information and Communications Technologies

Sotbi Saddik

Each morning before going to work, a few privileged city dwellers in some African countries listen to the radio or watch television to have some idea of current news headlines. If such Africans are lucky enough to be hooked up to the information highway, they may wonder whether their fellow citizens in the rural areas have access to informa tion on leaf-rust epidemics or other diseases ravaging crops in a specific subregion. It is this kind of issue, among others, that AISI seeks to address. For this reason, the AISI programme must first of all have an institutional infra structure upon which informa tion and communication activities would be based.

Subsequently, it will need bilateral, multilateral and non governmental partners from the public and private sector to work with African coun tries. Finally, it will need those resources that will enable Africa to join the world economic globalization band

wagon.

AISI operations are built around: (a) a policy of edu cating people about national information and communica tion plans and policies, de

mocratizing access, appropri ate connectivity depending on each country's level of infor mation and communication facilities development (internet for some countries and less expensive communi cation systems for others), training and capacity building, development information networking or infrastructure and application sectors rang ing from distant education, health care and commerce to agricultural extension services and family planning cam paigns.

Stress may be laid here on the interface between the new information and communica tions technologies (NICTs) considered as basic infrastruc ture and the message content (infostructure) that must be transmitted through the NICTs. This interface is called infocommunication.

NICTs or information high ways are built from the con vergence of initially separate or distinct communications and informatics systems into a global network or chain of networks. This term also covers the content of mes sages travelling over elec tronic network. The informa tion highway is based on integrated software which

enables users to navigate various channels in order to access a whole world of information.

Currently, the systems are still being used separately, depending on the-services provided, especially tele phone, cable and satellite communication systems as well as electronic information networks.

Each sector of the com munications industry has established transmission systems which cater to the type of communication ser vices they offer. Each of them has built its own routes for service provision at home or in the office.

Nevertheless, two dynam ics in the technology revolu tion have seriously shaken up the information and communi cations industry, thus defining the pattern of the information highway. In the telecommuni cations sector, transmission modes have evolved from copper wire technology to fibre-optic technology using a new range of integrated chips and software. The unlimited possibilities offibre-optic have virtually eliminated problems of capacity or band spectrum

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(the number of signals that can be sent on the same wire or cable for current applications).

The shift to bulk processing of data for video transmissions or X-ray imagery, is becoming increasingly faster and finan cially viable.

Another technological

breakthrough is that of digita- lization which means the

conversion of textual, audio,

visual, video and other data into the same digital form.

Digitalization enables various

communication systems to be

perfectly integrated within a single vast network. The challenge facing the countries of the subregion consists of taking advantage of these technological breakthroughs in order to integrate their telephone, cable, satellite and wireless communication

networks into a single inter

faced network. The capacity of these networks must also be raised to the level where they can be fully interactive on a wide spectrum thus enabling information to be effectively transmitted throughout the

country and the world (given the fact that some countries of

the subregion are vast and/or landlocked). In terms of creativity, electronic applica tions, services and message packaging will have to be worked out so that the people will become interested in using the information highway and realizing all the benefits it has to offer.

In seeking to determine

how NICTs could improve socio-economic development in the subregion, we find

ourselves using the term of catalyst (ECA's role), au

tonomy and enrichment (the

role that devolves on the countries themselves).

NICTs hold vast possibili ties for regional development and the opening up of those rural areas which traditionally have poor infrastructure. An on-line area attracts world- class businesses bringing in significant economic returns especially in terms ofemploy ment. In all sectors of the

economy and not only the

information or telecommuni cations sectors, business

managers are discovering how

info-communications improve productivity, sales, turnover, inventory control and prices.

Indeed, NICTs represent an element of capital importance to improving the competitive ness of countries in the subre gion. By adapting and mas tering NICTs, the countries will successfully make the

transition to an economy

within which jobs and pros perity will flow from informa tion creation, dissemination

and utilization.

Information and commu nication facilities are essential

to innovative business. Al

though most countries of the subregion know the impor tance ofhaving suitable infrastructural facilities, they still have a long way to go. It is important for the Govern

ments to pursue the imple

mentation ofAISI principles.

The speed of technological

development and the emerging paradigms ofthe information revolution will affect the

behaviour of citizens and

governments alike. In the face

of increasing financial pres sure, the public authorities have no other choice but to exploit information and communications technologies in order to enhance their productivity, improve the quality of their services and to achieve savings. AsNICT users, the public authorities have an important opportunity to modernise and reform the basic social infrastructure on which education, vocational training, health, peace and conflict resolution mecha- nisms are built. Nevertheless, the specific features of each

country should be taken into account. The main responsi

bility of each Government is

to institute the regulatory

framework and set up appro priate enforcement machinery.

In this way, Governments can

speed up or slow down the

pace of change. To do the former, they should take

concerted action with private

sector and institutional partici pation. The SRDC should be able to coordinate strategies at the subregional level with the involvement of the parties

concerned.

Within the subregion as a whole nnd within each coun try, ECA has provided sub

stantial support. Indeed, it has provided technical and

material support through the

following projects: Capacity

Building for Electronic Com munications for Africa

(CABECA), the Greater Horn

of Africa, the Highlands and

IGAD projects for the estab lishment of an integrated 10

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information system including a geo-information and an eco- information system which would constitute the basis for a genuine information society.

There is no denying of the contribution that the countries can make since most of them have demonstrated a degree of preparedness to build both telecommunications infra structure and documentary and informational infrastruc ture.

ECA's Development Information Services Division (DISD) has begun to imple ment its work programme following the adoption of ECA's strategic vision whose principal theme is "harnessing information for development".

To implement the AISI programme, DISD plans to:

Prepare training modules for managers and policy makers on the importance of AISI;

Prepare training modules for member States on how to package information for electronic distribution;

Conduct case studies on regulatory instruments that create an enabling environment for the building ofan information and communication infrastructure;

Coordinate the implemen tation of AISI programme activities with United Nations specialized agencies, bilateral and non-governmental organi zations as well as the private sector;

Administer information relating to AISI projects,

experts and institutions;

Advice member States on the packaging of informa tion networking and Web sites;

Organize training semi nars on the use of infor mation technologies to secure development information;

Organize training semi nars on information packaging and the instal lation of Web sites for Africa;

Conduct workshops on the importance of AISI;

Identify sources of devel opment information in Africa; and

Prepare CD-ROM pack ages of development infornmation in Africa.B

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V. The Water -hyacinth in the East African Subregion: A Challenge to

Sustainable Development and Subregional Cooperation

Jacques Rajohnson

"Eiehornia Crasspipes" is the scientific name ofthe water-hyacinth, so called because of its decorative and lily-coloured bloom.

The water-hyacinth is an aquatic plant that originated from the Latin American tropics of Brazil. It was introduced into Africa prob ably through Egypt where it

was cultivated from as far

back as 1879. Taking advan

tage of the particularly

favourable weather conditions of tropical temperature and humidity and unpolluted

waters whose PH value was less than 4.2, the water-

hyacinth has developed

spectacularly to infest virtually

all African surface waters that are neither briny nor salty and located lower than 1,500 to

1,600 meters above sea level.

Beyond that altitude, it ap pears unable to thrive. Work ing its way up the Nile valley, it quickly invaded East Africa which, currently with West

Africa, constitutes its breeding

grounds.

The plant takes the shape of a short vertical rhizome which carries at the top a rosette of petiolated flowers

and at the base a highly

developed root formation.

From the rhizome sprout lateral stems that can bud to

sprout fresh leaf rosettes capable ofbranching off on their own in a highly rapid and efficient process ofvegetative reproduction. Experiments conducted in the United States of America show that the rate ofproliferation could be as high as 1,000 water lilies

generated from a single water-

hyacinth within 50 days when the habitat is good which, for most African countries, means virtually the whole year round.

The petiolated leaves are

highly bloated, vesicular and

spongy and take the shape of

floating buds that give the plant a high capacity for sustaining itself on water.

A major blight clothed in beauty

The vvater-hyacinth floats

freely and moves easily with

the drift of currents or the

wind, Coupled with its high

speed of reproduction, it can become, in the manner de scribed by MacMillan: "a beautiful plant when in flower but a formidable pest in some

countries".

Indeed, given its great

ability to float, move and

proliferate, the water-hyacinth forms over water courses an attractive lush green mat extending over great distances

and capable of causing serious

damage to:

(a) Navigation, where it

creates many obstacles by obstructing waterways, concealing and submerg

ing, if not actually remov ing, signalling buoys and beacons, blocking ship

rotor blades and choking engine cooling systems;

(b) Aquatic animal life by choking fish, reducing fish

breeding areas and con

straining fishery activity;

(c) Agriculture by invading

irrigation canals, drains,

gutters and covering off season irrigation farms which it infests during the

flood season and where it

remains when floods have receded;

(d) Hydropower generation

when it causes sedimenta tion in catchment reser voirs making them diffi cult to dredge or clear and

obstructing canals, spill

ways and damaging turbines;

(e) Tourism when it renders

recreation sites (especially coastal areas with hotel

facilities) inaccessible; and (f) The environment when it

affects water quality by

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cutting off oxygen and sunshine and leading to the extinction of local flora and other plant

cover.

Briefly, the water-hyacinth poses a real danger to many economic sectors.

Subregional strategy and control

Many countries facing the problem ofwater-hyacinth have called on international assistance, particularly, from United Nations agencies, to help in designing and imple menting water-hyacinth control programmes.

In this connection, the Food and Agricultural Organi zation (FAO) of the United Nations organized the first conference on Water-hyacinth Control in Africa. The issue of fowl pest control was also discussed at that Conference.

The Conference held in Douala, Cameroon from 25 September to 5 October 1965 was attended by five East African countries (Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Somalia and United Republic of Tanza nia) and focused on: (i) the need to estimate economic losses caused by the water- hyacinth; (ii) consideration of water-hyacinth control mecha nisms; (iii) campaign coordi nation and information shar ing; (iv) prevention of water- hyacinth introduction and proliferation; and (v) coopera tion requirements.

The recommendations

coming out of the Conference had to do with:

(a) The urgent need to collect data for evaluating the economic losses caused by water-hyacinth;

(b) Herbicide treatment pending the development of better control methods;

(c) intensification of research into biological control methods especially;

(d) Speedy establishment of an effective information sharing network;

(e) Accompanying measures to be initiated jointly and severally by member States;

(f) The establishment of an African water-hyacinth research centre; and

(g) Inter-State cooperation to achieve effective control.

Some of the water- hyacinth control experiments conducted in places of Africa show how expensive tradi tional control methods are, the need to try new methods and the urgency of anticipating all the implications for and possible impact on the ecosys tem, water quality and the life of people living close to the water bodies.

(i) Herbicide 2.4D treatment

The Democratic Republic of Congo sustained an inten sive herbicide 2.4D treatment programme which proved

effective.

The method, however, required substantial resources.

To treat the infested area of

the Congo River required the mobilization of a 460-strong team including 40 specialists, a fleet of 10 motor boats, three lodging barges, 30 whalers, 4 speed boats, 110 canoes and a helicopter to cover areas which could not be reached on water. Spray ing equipment including 33 motor pumps and 89 hand pumps and 50 back-packs were also used. This massive campaign came with vigorous accompanying measures in terms of regulation, establish ment of control and monitor ing institutions, mobilization of river-side people and intensified research.

(ii) Development of biological control

Research into biological control seems to have resulted in the development of a new method which is currently making headway in Benin despite some difficulties.

Anti-water-hyacinth and water-weed biological agents have been identified. The International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA) branch in Benin is conducting an intensive agent culture and distribution campaign under the operational guidance of the directorate of fisheries.

The campaign is built around an evaluation of the degree of infestation, production and release of biological agents into infested areas, follow-up and evaluation and education 13

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of people using the water

bodies.

Upon analysis of treat

ment results, the Benin au

thorities made the following

observations:

(a) Open areas exposed to hydro-dynamic influences

showed mixed results

while closed areas like

lakes showed highly promising results;

(b) Success depended on the effectiveness of awareness

campaigns; and

(c) Water-hyacinth can be

eradicated through a

judicious combination of

biological treatment and awareness campaigns.

Formulating a subregional programme for water-hyacinth control in East Africa

From the foregoing and the fact that States share several water-courses and lake systems, it would appear that effective control of this scourge would require a dynamic subregional ap proach.

Subregional and inter- agency cooperation among

IGOs, research institutions and such United nations

agencies as FAO, UNEP and

the East African SRDC would be of major help in conducting efficient programmes in line with the recommendations of the September 1965 FAO Conference on Water-hyacinth

Control in Africa.

For the East African

subregion, even though the degree of infestation has yet to be officially evaluated, it is

still significant enough to preoccupy IGOs like the Hast

African Cooperation and should therefore justify the

design, formulation and implementation of a subre

gional programme. The sixth

meeting of the Intergovern mental Committee of Experts of what is (and used to be known as Gisenyi

MULPLOC) now the East African SRDC discussed, among other issues, the

problem of water-hyacinth. In its final report, the Committee

noted the rapid proliferation of water-hyacinth especially in Lake Victoria and called for studies to work out appropri ate solutions.

Reasonable and effective action to address this would

require an in-depth analysis of:

(a) The degree to which water bodies in the East African subregion are infested by

water-hyacinth;

(b) The degree to which the

recommendations of the Douala Conference have

been implemented in the

States of the subregion;

and

(c) The type of assistance that

various United nations agencies, especially FAO, the East African SRDC, UNEP and UNDP could provide to member States and their cooperation institutions to eradicate this scourge.

The joint organization by FAO, the SRDC and UNEP of a training seminar for national agencies dealing with this problem and the integration IGOs and research institutes operating in this area should

make it possible to address

these pressing issues. The objective will be to formulate an integrated programme and a

plan for its implementation within a reasonable time frame.

The seminar could have as its theme: The Water-hyacinth Control Programme in East Africa: Current Information, Stakes and Programme of Action. ■

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VI. Towards the Rationalization and

Harmonization of Intergovernmental Organizations Responsible for the Promotion Of Subregional

Cooperation and Integration in the Eastern Africa Subregion

Wilfred W. Asombang Introduction

The commitment of African countries to develop ment through subregional and regional cooperation and integration culminated in the promulgation of the Abuja Treaty establishing the African Common Market (AEC).

Therefore, the establishment of subregional intergovern mental organizations (IGOs) and regional economic com munities (RECs) must be considered in the context of the efficiency and cost-effec tiveness ofthe building blocs of the Abuja Treaty.

Rationale for

rationalization and harmonization of subregional IGOs and RECs

All-over the world, political, social and economic factors tend to influence decisions to establish organi zations to find solutions to the common challenges of sus tained and the sustainable development ofhuman societ ies. These problems may be subregional, regional or global. In some instances, because of the enormity of the underdevelopment challenges,

several IGOs and other subregional and regional groupings are established to address similar problems.

Inadvertently, this leads to a multiplicity ofIGOs with overlapping programmes and mandates in the same subre gional space. In the process of searching for urgent solu tions to a myriad of develop ment concerns, African countries established IGOs and other institutions which were, to all intents and pur poses, founded initially to grapple with the then identi fied problems of national development and the per ceived contribution of the IGOs to the solution of the then existing problems. How ever, with the passage of time, the end of the cold war, and recognition of the private sector as a partner in socio- economic growth and devel opment, the Member States themselves would as of now want to review and rationalize the mandates, objectives and programmes in the light of emerging challenges ofglobal ization and the moral hazard ofmarginalization. Needless to stress the fact that duplica tion of functional areas and multiplicity ofthe number of subregional and regional IGOs

and RECs with identical programmes is not only wasteful in terms of scarce resources but also complicates the regional cooperation and integration machinery and processes. This caveat is applicable not only to Eastern Africa IGOs and RECs but also to those in Western, Northern and Southern Africa.

The experience of other regions and lessons for Eastern Africa IGOs and RECs

The decision to or not to rationalize and harmonize rests with the Member States of the Eastern Africa IGOs and RECs. Nonetheless, the experience and lessons from other African subregions and the analysis of the specificity of the countries in the Eastern Africa subregion will enrich the decision-making process.

The issue of rationaliza tion of African IGOs is not new. It was already in place in West Africa as far back as early 1980s when Africa's economic integration strategy was being defined and ham mered out in the Lagos Plan of Action. In 1983, 1986 and

1987 the Economic Commis- 15

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sion for Africa (ECA) con ducted surveys on behalf of the Economic Community of West African States

(ECOWAS)withaviewto making proposals on rational ization of the existing eco nomic communities and IGOs. An Association of West African IGOs was created in 1984 to encourage concerted action and harmo nize programmes. Of the 41 IGOs identified, only 21 of them had signed a Coopera tion Agreement and as of 1993 only three of the IGOs were uptodate in the payment

of their dues.

The Central, Eastern and Southern Africa subregions have not been spared from the rationalization and har monization debate. With the signing in 1983 of the Treaty establishing ECCAS and the

more recent transformation

of the Preferential Trade Area (PTA) into a common market for Southern and Eastern Africa (COMESA) and the Southern African Develop ment Coordination Confer

ence into the Southern Africa Development Community

(SADC), the issue of ratio nalization and harmonization of regional cooperation and integration of IGOs remains

largely unresolved.

Lessons of experience could be drawn from the last

surve> conducted by IDEP.

The survey took account of the essential proposals made between 1983 and 1987. The conclusion, among other things, is that rationalization through institutional regroup ing (mergers and absorptions)

"is essentially, the expression of a political choice, which behooves sovereign states.

No survey or expertise, however pertinent, would have an already-made solu tion to the problem posed.

Moreover, the legal instru

ments adopted in that area

during the last five years which followed the signing of the Abuja Treaty, do not state

any definite orientation towards the grouping of

existing IGOs into the re gional frameworks defined by

the OAU".

The other lesson is that there are some institutions whose resources hardly cover

recurrent budgets and there are some member States

which are unable to imple ment tariff abolition and other accords because of the likely shortfall in revenues or loss of employment through, for

example, the implementation

of the accord on free move

ment of labour and capital.

Conclusion

Notwithstanding the

problems posed by budgetary allocations and the coherent follow-up of the programmes

of several IGOs to which member States belong, rationalization through

mergers and absorptions

would only be possible through the initiatives of individual member States. In this regard, should any

member State decide to

embark on studies on the rationalization of its member ship of several IGOs/RECs, the ECA's Eastern African Subregional Development Centre (EA/SRDC) would provide technical assistance,

on request by any of the countries in the Eastern

African subregion.

The commitment of member States to economic reforms and the creation of an enabling environment for the healthy growth of the private sector should be extended to the rationalization and harmo nization ofthe number and

programmes ofintergovern

mental organizations and regional economic communi ties. Past attempts to resolve this issue must be considered in their temporal context. The

end of the cold war, the

acknowledgement ofthe primacy of the private sector as a significant factor in economic

growth and the commitment to

socio-economic reforms should encourage African

countries to embark on the

rationalization and harmoniza tion of IGOs and RECs in a pragmatic milieu. ■

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VII.Announcements

Seminars and Workshops organized by EA/SRDC

pi I ■

Date and Venue

22-24 October 1997 DR Coago

26-28 H ovember 1997 Arusba, Taaiaah

21-23 December 1997 Djfcoati

Title

SemawforEqaftyfc Ecoaomk k Social Empowermeat of W omea ■ a Traasnoaal PoBkal System

Symposiam oa StreaoilMBma < apacly for G eader lafetives Md Sab-reojoaal C ooperatna

Traa»g of Trainer's W orkshoa oa Leaderskip for fte Yoath

■ Eastera Africa Saa-regioi

0 rganiang D epartoneBt

■^— ■'

EA/SRDC

EA#RDC

EA/5RDC

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EASTERN AFRICA SUBREGIONAL DEVELOPMENT CENTRE (EASRDC)

TOWARDS SUBREGIONAL COOPERATION AND INFORMATION: BRINGING PEOPLE TOGETHER

UNITED NATIONS

<M ECONOMIC COMMISSION FOR AFRICA

Development bulletin: Eastern African sub regional cooperation and integration, Issue no.1

Table of Contents

II. "Not Gone, Just Forgotten": Refugees in Eastern Africa 2

III. Small Scale Food Processing Technologies and Their use in the Rural Areas of the

Eastern African Subregion: 5

IV. African Information Society Initiative: Fostering Subregional and Regional Cooperation and Integration Through Information and Communications

V. The Water Hyacinth in the East African Subregion: A Challenge to Sustainable

Development and Subregional Cooperation 12

VI. Towards the Rationalization and Harmonization of Intergovernmental Organizations Responsible for the Promotion of Subregional Cooperation and Integration in the

Eastern Africa Subregion 15

The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent

those of the Subregional Development Centre (SRDC) or the United Nations Economic Commis

I. Editorial: Why a